A Second Chance
by Crystal56
Summary: Ramirez, what would you do if you had a second chance? What would you do if you could come back and live again? What would you do Ramirez? Would you try again to destroy the world? Or would you try to make things right? (It's confusing, right?)
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own Skies of Arcadia  
  
A/N: I think this will be only a one shot thingy. I just came up with it and decided to write it...  
  
Second Chances: Ramirez  
  
What would you do if you had a second chance?  
  
Would you change what happened?  
  
Would you try harder to win?  
  
Would you give up and live,  
  
Instead of dying for a lost cause  
  
For the heroes wanted to win more  
  
Than you wanted to destroy  
  
They dreamed of a brighter future  
  
You dreamed of working for one who wanted power only  
  
They dreamed of a free world  
  
You dreamed...  
  
Would you try to make things right?  
  
Would you try to save more lives?  
  
Would you work to make things better for all?  
  
Thou hast seen the future of thy own making  
  
Was it not you who gave your life?  
  
Just to see the world destroyed?  
  
What would you do with your second chance?  
  
Would you want someone to show you the darkness and the light?  
  
That rests within all decisions?  
  
Would you seek then to make things right?  
  
Ramirez, you gave your life to destroy the world  
  
But that was just one world...  
  
You died for a cause that was not right...  
  
You knew it was not  
  
And yet you stayed the course  
  
That led to your doom  
  
Ramirez, I offer you a second chance  
  
Probation, if you will call it something  
  
Will you take this second chance?  
  
Will you trust someone else to show you a true and just path?  
  
Not a path of power and destruction  
  
Ramirez, you never understood why they fought, did you?  
  
You never realized they were hoping for peace, did you?  
  
If you are willing...a second chance awaits you  
  
What will you do?  
  
Will you take it?  
  
Will you live again and learn?  
  
Do you want to learn?  
  
Even though the one you followed was foolish in what he tried to attempt?  
  
What will you do?  
  
I offer you a second chance... will you not take it?  
  
Take it and see the right path  
  
Awaken Ramirez; you have been given a second chance  
  
"Huh? Where am I?"  
  
A/N: Please don't flame me... I don't know what to do with this... well I sort of do, but I'm not sure... If you want me to continue, tell me so please! 


	2. You're on Probation!

Disclaimer: I don't own Skies of Arcadia... just the plot...  
  


Previously:  
  
I offer you a second chance... will you not take it?  
  
Take it and see the right path  
  
Awaken Ramirez; you have been given a second chance...  
  
"Huh? Where am I?"  


  
Chapter 1: You're on Probation!  
  
"You are in the Tree of Portals, it's Saturday, the 9th of March, I've forgotten the year but I think its spring," a voice spoke. I opened my eyes all the way and groggily stared around the room.  
"Where am I?" I repeated, "What is this place?"  
"I already said where you are, is something wrong with your hearing?" the voice asked, "I mean, you are Ramirez, aren't you?"  
"Who are you?" I asked, this person knew my name, but... where was he in the room?  
  
"My name is Katiana. That is my true name. You may call me Cat," this person replied. He was a she? Oh, that explains the higher pitched voice...  
"I thought I was dead," I said, still trying to find where she was at.  
"You were, but the spirit council looked at your record and decided a second chance was in order for you to learn. You get to live again, but you're on probation, which is why you're here with me," she explained.  
"So... where are you?" I asked.  
"I imagined you to be a bit more protesting... you're taking this very well for someone who died trying to end a world," she said with a laugh. Where was I?  
"By world, are you saying I'm on another planet or something?" I asked.  
"Something that's like that," she replied with another laugh, "Now, about your probation, I'm your probation officer, and probation is a little different when you're brought back from the dead. You are required to do work, which I assign, and you must stay with me at all times. I think there is a list of other rules somewhere..."  
"But where are you?" I asked, "I can't see you anywhere!"  
"Oh, I'm sorry, let me make myself visible," she said and in less than a moment, I saw a young girl dressed in black.  
"Are you a pirate or something?" I asked her as I looked her over; she was really good looking...  
"Nope, I'm the Guardian of the Portals, and your probation officer! How I got stuck with that job though, I still have no idea," she said and smiled at me, "I'm pleased to meet you Ramirez." She took a look around.  
"What?" I asked.  
"This is your room, where you shall be staying," she said, "And then, you can settle in today, and tomorrow, we're going to work."  
"I have to work?" I asked with a groan, and then remembered something, "What... happened to Galcian?"  
"He's dead, for good," she said and bowed her head in respect, "he may not have been evil so to speak, but what he did caused many to die, and therefore he doesn't deserve a second chance, much less anything else."  
"GALACIAN WAS A GOOD MAN!" I yelled at her, "How dare you say such things! How dare you! HOW DARE YOU!"  
"That is quite the childlike behavior. It was not my decision to make, and furthermore, even though I am for that decision, I respect you for your admiration and why you did what you did," she said calmly. I yelled at her again, and she just sat down on a chair near the bed and listened to my ranting with a patient look on her face. How could she just sit there and listen?  
  
"Does it help to yell at me?" she asked, "I know a lot about you... so... does it help to take out your anger on me? Is this how you shall heal?"  
"..." I shut myself up. I lowered my head. She was right, I couldn't do anything. I had heard rumors of the spirit council, they ruled the dead and sometimes if the need arose, they influenced the living in some way.  
"So..." she began.  
"Are you anything special? I mean, besides being the guardian?" I asked. The more I found out, the more information I gathered, the more I could actually do something.  
"I'm also the protector of Forest, if that means anything to you," she said, "Now, enough of that. It's time to get you settled in. Come on my little Ramirez, your probation must begin!" Did she just call me her little Ramirez? What the heck was going on?  
  
A/N: A little short, but I've hit a block on this one for a bit, I'll try to update A.S.A.P. but people have to want me to continue! Read and Review! (Please!) 


	3. Why am I here?

Disclaimer: I don't own Skies of Arcadia Legends...

A/N: I think that Ramirez sort of fell apart near the end of the storyline of the game which is why he seems so emotional right now. He's bitter and unstable, unable to forgive those that were trying to save the world from evil. Oh well, then he's a little OOC if that doesn't work. I'm so used to having people have lots of emotion in my stories; it's kinda different to have something like Ramirez with no emotion whatsoever.

**Why am I here?**

Being here was completely different from being back at home. This place was different, the people were different and I still couldn't understand what probation was. At least not what it meant to people here.

"Ramirez?" a quiet voice asked, I turned around from where I was on the porch to see the girl who called herself Cat standing in a doorway, "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm in a strange land for some reason or another," I said bitterly, "I feel emotional all of a sudden..."

"That's easy to explain. You see, because you could not understand the emotions of others, in order to teach you how to feel, one more part of your punishment would be that any feelings you had would be magnified, even if you tried to mask them," she said softly, coming up to join me. Cat was a very short woman; she had long black hair and deep green eyes. She wore a purple skirt that looked to be made of velvet and a long-sleeved shirt that looked to be made of the same material. The top had a slight dip in it along the neckline and I could see her stomach as well.

"So anything I feel I feel it so much I can't help but show it?" I asked, still confused.

"Kinda like that. Because your feelings are magnified, you can't just keep them bottled in because they affect you more..." she said, "It doesn't help anyways to bottle in your feelings, sooner or later they appear..."

"I had everything under control!" I said and turned to face her again; she turned to face me and looked up into my eyes.

"Yes, but controlling your emotions is a bad thing... I try to do that and it always seems to backfire on me..." she said and I could see deep suffering behind her eyes.

"How old are you?" I asked.

"Old enough..." she said and let herself grin.

"That's not an answer, how old are you?" I asked and I wasn't used to not getting an answer from someone.

"I'm two years younger than you are..." she replied, "When you died. You actually weren't dead for too long..."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked and turned back to look out into the fields. I thought they were fields, I saw something that looked like a garden in the distance but right in front of my eyes was a lot of grassy area that had nothing on it. I also noticed a red barn and many creatures, strange creatures that ran about.

"I mean the spirit council allowed you to go on probation shortly after you arrived. They either must not have wanted you or they thought you deserved a second chance more so than others..." she said.

"Does this mean I'm alive again?" I asked puzzled.

"Yes and no," she said, "Until you're relieved of probation, the right of life can always be taken from you. You're lucky there though; I'm a very lenient probation officer..."

"How do I get relieved of probation?" I asked, "And if I do, where do I then go?"

"You get off of probation when you finally learn. As to where you go later on, that is for you to decide," She said, "Only fate and time will tell you that."

"I still don't understand," I said flatly, "And I have this sinking feeling you won't be telling me..."

"You have to find some of the answers out for yourself," she said and touched my hand. No one had touched my hand in forever. Her touch was kind and gentle and her hand was soft.

"Go away," I said and she moved her hand and headed back into the house, I could tell she was hurt, she was trying to be kind to me and I didn't want her kindness...so I hurt her.

"Dinner will be ready soon," she said, "And then you should get some sleep, I'll be taking you to your new job then later..."

"What?" I asked, "Tonight?"

"No, I meant tomorrow..." she said and turned to face me, "I wasn't hurt..."

"How did you...?" I asked and she smiled at me.

"I'm a psychic," she replied, "I can read thoughts, feelings...those kinds of things. I wasn't hurt, it's okay..."

"..." I didn't know how to respond to her now, now that I knew that she could read minds. She smiled at me again and disappeared inside the house. I wondered how many people she had been probation officer for, or how many she had now, including me. There was suffering in her eyes, more than I saw in my own. What could happen to someone to have that look, the look she had in her eyes? My emotions were showing again, and I couldn't hold them back. Whatever had been done to me was working.

"Feeling..." I murmured, having held back my emotions for so long now, this was new to me, it all was I guess, and then I leaned forward on the railing, "So this is true emotion..."

TBC

A/N: I haven't updated this in like forever! Geeze, it was because I wrote this on a whim and such. Well, if you want me to update, tell me so! Any flames will be used to roast my marshmallows and make S'mores for people who like this story!


	4. My job is what?

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or Skies of Arcadia!

A/N: To finish or not finish is always a question!

**A Second Chance**

**_Chapter 4: You want me to do what?_**

****

"Ramirez!" a voice called. "Are you ready to go to work now?"

"No I'm not but I don't think you care," I called back, straightening my clothes and opening the door to my room to be greeted by Cat's smiling face.

"Oh come on, don't be such a downer! This is the first day of the rest of your miserable life!" she said.

"Miserable…great," I trailed and pushed past her into the hallway.

"I was teasing! Geeze, we need to get you a sense of humor. Anyways, follow me!" Cat said and led me out the backdoor. We had already eaten breakfast, although she practically had to shove the foreign food down my throat. It was good, but the taste of some of it was odd. She said it was 'Mexican'. I had no clue what it was but she seemed to like it a little too much.

"So what's this job you have for me?" I asked as we headed out towards a large building in the back, I think she had called it a 'barn'. I had heard and seen barns before but none I had seen were ever made of wood.

"It's a little better to show you what you're going to have to do. You have to learn to show emotion and learn about other things, so this job should be perfect for you," Cat said and opened the door. I looked in past her and saw a lot of horses, and jumped back when one of them appeared to be glaring at me.

"What the heck is that?" I asked, and pointed towards the horse.

"What is that? Well darling Ramirez that is my horse. We're riding to get to your place of work," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Your horse," I repeated dumbly, "It looks like it's on fire."

"And if it is?" she asked.

"What kind of place is this tree of portals?" I asked.

"You'll find out," she replied, "Ah, this is the life…sorry, I regress. Time to get the horses saddled up and to head out! Whee!" I looked at her like she was insane.

**_…_**

**__**

Once I got past the fact I couldn't hurt the horse to get it to move, riding turned out to be not half bad. The wind blew in my hair and for a moment I felt free. Of course, it all ended the moment we arrived at a large building and had to get down.

"We're here!" she said cheerfully and I glared at Cat.

"You are a little too happy," I said and watched her tie up her horse and the horse I had ridden on.

"So what? What reason do I not have to be happy?" she asked.

"I don't understand you," I said.

"You don't understand women, period," she said, cocking an eyebrow. "Deal or don't deal with it. Come on then, we gotta get you to come inside! You're new life is about to begin!"

"Are you going to tell me where we are yet?" I asked irritably as I followed her towards the building. We arrived at the door and she rested her hand on the handle.

"You'll see soon enough," she said with an evil smile and then opened the door. Ramirez looked inside and saw people and strange creatures all around the place.

"What sort of place is this?"

"Welcome to the pokemon breeding center!" she said and beckoned me to follow her. "Here you will learn kindness and respect and if you don't…well, you'll get off of probation and spend the rest of your life in hell."

"Pokemon," I mulled the word over in my mind.

"You could either see this as heaven or hell, but you will do it and I don't care if you like pokemon or not," she said, obviously proud of herself. "Now come on, let's get you started."

"How…what the hell?" I asked as I ended up following her again. I didn't even have a clue what these 'pokemon' were! Of course, I'd probably find out soon enough.

**_TBC_**

**__**

**A/N: I don't care if you like PKMN or not but it will be in this story. Even if you don't like it, can't you see how it could cause a person to go one way or the other? I'll laugh if I get any flames, and then use the flames to roast marshmallows. I'll update when I feel like updating. Until then I'll see you later!**


	5. And what about my anger?

Disclaimer: I don't own Skies of Arcadia Legends.

A/N: I made a promise, to finish this…so here I am…trying to finish this.

**_A Second Chance_**

****

**Chapter 5**

****

**_Ramirez_**

****

Pokemon were creatures completely unfamiliar to me. I expressed this concern to Cat, who laughed and said, "You'll get used to it." She explained how this was supposed to get me to learn how to care, to care for something other than myself, but I didn't see it. I saw this as a means to getting out of here, nothing more. Whatever I could learn from these strange creatures was not something I cared to learn. Of course, all arguments fell upon deaf ears as she led me to where I would be first working, with baby pokemon. She introduced me to my area where I would be working and to my supervisor, a young man by the name of Nick. Nick was nice enough, telling Cat to leave me to my work, that he would tell her if something went wrong, leaving Cat to go on her way.

"So, now begins your time with me," Nick said, a smile on his face. Were all people here this cheerful or did the thought of making my torment in this place last long enough to keep them smiling?

I looked at him. "Just what do you want me to do with these things?"  
"You'll be reading them stories, taking care of them, making sure they get down to lunch, that sort of thing," Nick said. "Let me introduce you to your group. I'll let you off easy and give you one of the better behaved groups of baby pokemon, but don't expect this group everyday."

"What are Pokemon?" I asked, still not understanding what I was in for.

"Creatures that inhabit this portal," he said. "We have a lot of different ones, a wide variety if you will. I'll talk to Cat about getting you a pokedex; it's useful for getting information about them."

"And what type of pokemon will I be watching today then?" I asked.

"Cleffa," he said, which was as foreign a word to me as pokemon. "Oh, sorry, Cleffa are a normal breed of pokemon, they're the baby form of what we call a Clefairy. They're really adorable."

"I wouldn't say that," I said bitterly, "You would though, you're used to them."

He laughed at me, "Nope, I'm sure you'll be saying the same thing in a while." He led me into a room and pointed at a small corner where white and pink looking masses moved around holding little toys and other things. "Here they are. Cleffa!" The masses looked up and I saw huge black eyes and twitchy little ears. They ran over and huddled around me. Okay…so they were little…and they eyes were big… "I knew you'd think they were cute."

"I didn't say anything!" I exclaimed and his smile grew wider.

"You didn't have to, it's apparent in your eyes. Good first step you know, having you think they're cute." I refused to consider how in his mind he thought it was a first step to think something was cute. "Well, I'll leave you to play with them. I'll come get you at meal times and when it's time for them to take a nap." He left me in the room with the fur balls and then watched as they immediately after saying their hellos ran around the room and back to the corner with their toys. I followed them to the corner and sat on the floor next to them. Watching them play was something else…they shared their toys among one another and I couldn't tell, if there even was one, a leader from a follower. One of the Cleffa approached me. "Cleffa!" Its bright eyes met mine and it offered me a ball.

"What's this?" I asked and took the ball from its hands. Its hands motioned that it wanted me to throw the ball to it and it backed up a few steps, jumping up and down as it waited for me to throw it. "So you want to play?" I threw the ball and it went over the Cleffa's head and landed behind it. It looked at me and its eyes started to tear up.

"Cleffa…" it whispered and started to cry. Um…that wasn't good. I stood up and got the ball, going quickly back to where I had been sitting previously and rolled the ball towards it. It stopped crying and went after the ball, catching it in its little hands, cheering slightly. The other Cleffa were watching this now as the little one brought the ball back to me and I would roll the ball and it would catch it as it rolled towards him. The other Cleffa started cheering and began lining up, each one wanting to take a turn catching the ball and bringing it back to me. I had never seen anything like this before… they were all happy just to catch a little ball, something I had never witnessed. Where I was from…no one was ever this happy. Everyone seemed to want something more.

Cat's words made a little sense, as did Nick's. These creatures that needed care, my care at that did have something to teach me, although I was still a little unsure of what to learn from them.

"Lunch time!" Nick's voice reached my ears and I looked up, as did the Cleffa. "Ah, there you are."

"How long have I been here?" I asked.

"A while," he said with a smile. "It looks like you've been having fun with them. How time flies when you have fun."

"Fun? You think that was fun?" I asked as I stood up and brushed myself off. I walked over to him and was faintly aware of the Cleffa following me. "It wasn't fun; I was just doing some repetitive gesture over and over again for the amusement of a few Cleffa."

"Okay, so maybe then you felt pride that you were able to make the Cleffa happy." How hard was he going to try to get me to feel things I didn't really feel?  
"No, that wasn't it either. It's just a job. I'm here for some stupid probation thing forced to learn how to feel and yet nothing's happening."

Nick frowned and then smiled pushing a strand of his brown hair behind his eyes. "Okay then, you didn't feel anything. Well, as they say in some of the other portals, Rome wasn't built in a day."  
"What does that mean?"

"It means you won't learn anything all at once," he said, "But enough of that, come on now, we better get you to lunch. Come on everyone!"

"This is still a waste of time."

**_…_**

**__**

By the end of the day I felt tired. Spending the entire day with the Cleffa had turned out to be tiring. After lunch, they had a nap, but once that was over, they wanted to run around, chasing me around the small playroom and pretending to tackle me to the ground, which I let them do. I wouldn't admit it to Cat, but it was a little fun.

"Ready to go home and have a real meal?" I looked up from underneath the Cleffa and saw Cat staring at me. "Yep, I think you are. It looks like they love you."

"I'm ready to go," I said, picking myself up and setting the Cleffa on the ground. A few of them as I started to walk away clung onto my clothes, the ones I had worn when I had died and Cat helped me gently pry them off. "What do we do with them?"

"Ask them to follow you and we'll take them to bed," she said and I motioned for them to follow me, noting a few of them were yawning.

"Are you sure it isn't too early for them to sleep?" I asked curiously.

"They need more sleep because they're baby pokemon. Other baby pokemon need the same thing too you know," Cat said.

"Well I didn't know," I said, "You should have known that." I knew she was provoking me but into what sort of a trap I had yet to guess.

Cat let out a pleasant sigh. "I'm glad we took away your ability to get angry easily."  
"Say what?"  
"Before you died, you were rash and came to decisions without much thought. When you were allowed back the spirit council decided it would be better to take away some of your anger. Anger causes rash thinking among other things and so we took most of it away. You can still get mad, and you will have everything back once you get off probation but for now…I can tease you and all you can do is get frustrated with me!"

"I hate you."  
"Yeah, that too." She grinned at me as I contemplated her words still. "Anyways now, should I show you where the Cleffa sleep?"

"Whatever," I said, reigning in the urge to call her a number of different things. Cocky little probation officer bitch.

She led me down a hallway and made sure I checked a few times that all the Cleffa were following me as we walked. We arrived at a room that looked like the one we had been in all day, although there were beds everywhere along the sides and some cradles as well. Cat walked in ahead of me and I was surprised to see the Cleffa follow her in, each going to a bed or cradle. "Ramirez, help me help them get tucked in, will you?"

"Fine." I went in and helped her as she tucked the various little puff balls into their beds. It went quickly and I stood up when I finished tucking the last one in. Cat stood in the middle of the room, surveying all the beds. I bet she wanted to make sure everything was perfect.

"Now we sing them a song to get them to sleep." My mouth dropped open and I watched her smile and giggle at my expression. Me…sing? What in the world did she think I was? I was a warrior not a vocalist!

"You have got to be kidding me," I said as I regained my composure.

"Fine then, I'll sing them to sleep and you can watch…but only for tonight. I guess tomorrow I'll have to teach you how to sing." She smiled at me but then closed her eyes. I thought I heard a rhythm from somewhere in the room but I had no idea where it was coming from. Then she began to sing:

_ "Sleep little one_

_ Sleep little one_

_ The eve has come_

_ Sleep little one _

_ Sleep my little one_

_ See you in the morning_

_ The sun will rise_

_ To a new day_

_ You want to see it_

_ But only if you sleep_

_ Will you awake and_

_ See the dawn_

_ Sleep little one_

_ My little one_

_ Silent lullabies_

_ Your time has come_

_ Sleep little one_

_ Waken when morning comes."_ She looked at me as she finished and I stared at her. It was such a simple song and yet she sang it with all the life she could throw into it. She hadn't been moving but I could have sworn I felt her touch my cheek as she had sung, a breeze that seemed to blow past me. She beckoned me to silently follow her as she exited the room and we left. She brought me out the front door and back to our horses, where we mounted and headed for home. Such a simple song…and yet it seemed to mean so much to her.

"Hey Ramirez," Cat called out to me as we rode.

"What is it?" I asked.  
"Tomorrow we need to get you some new clothes," she said with a teasing glint in her eyes. I almost fell of my horse. What kind of person was she? What sort of lesson was I supposed to be learning from this?

**_TBC_**


	6. Follow me home

Disclaimer: I don't own Skies of Arcadia or Pokemon or other games, shows, anime, movies or books either that I mention.

A/N: You know…sometimes I just put the disclaimer, A/N, title and chapter number down onto a page…it makes me realize I have to write the chapter… It's a big help when I need to get on top of writing my stories.

**_A Second Chance_**

****

**Chapter 6**

**_Ramirez_**

****

When we arrived home and I had jumped off the horse I saw a moving bulge in one of the bags the horse had on its saddle.

"What do you have there?" Cat asked teasingly and I glared at her before opening it up. A Cleffa jumped out at me and landed on my chest. Instinctively I brought my hands up to keep it from falling off of me and I pulled it off of my chest and looked at it. Its big eyes blinked at me and it smiled.

"I swear I didn't take it," I said. Cleffa looked at me and blinked.

Cat began to laugh. "Of course you didn't. It liked you so much it followed you home!" This was ridiculous. What in this Cleffa's mind made it think I would want it after it followed me like this?

"This looks a little like the one I played ball with first…but they all look the same," I said. "Is it?" I looked at the Cleffa and it nodded at me.

"I think it wants to be with you," Cat said and I glared at her again. "What is it Ramirez? I think it likes you."

"Is this some lesson you set up for me or something?" I asked.

"No, it really isn't," she replied and shrugged. "But it sure is convenient, isn't it? Your friend, what was her name, Filia had a friend, didn't she? She cared for something, right?"

"How do you know that?" I asked. "How could you?"  
"I know everything about your past. Remember Ramirez, I'm your parole officer." She smiled at me. "Come on now, let's go eat. I'm sure Chansey is waiting for us as is Annie."

"You're a pain." My words came out in a hiss and that only caused her to laugh harder. "What do you find so funny?" She laughed like she was insane, of course, she was insane so it made sense.

"You are amusing Ramirez." She smiled at me even wider. I didn't think a smile could go that wide, it seemed unnatural.

**_…_**

**__**

Nighttime came quickly and the little Cleffa wouldn't leave my side. I decided to let it, it wasn't going to leave on its own and Cat wouldn't let me kick it out. So now we were sitting on my bed and it was staring up at me with its big eyes.

"What am I going to do with you?" I asked. "Cat's forcing me to keep you now."

"Cleffa!" it exclaimed excitedly. Cat told me it was a male Cleffa, not that it made any difference to me, they all looked alike.

"How am I going to tell you apart from the others?" I asked wearily and then had an idea. I undid the scarf around my neck and tied it around the Cleffa's head. It didn't cover its entire face; rather it made the Cleffa look a little bit like a punk, if that was the right word to use for it.

"Cleffa!" it exclaimed and ran up on its short little legs to hug me. It was a little awkward; all the Cleffa could really hug was my armor, which I had yet to take off for the night so I could sleep peacefully. I picked it up and brought it to eye level with me. It smiled and yawned and reached out its arms towards me. I brought it close to my chest and its little hands clasped onto a piece of armor and it sighed contentedly, if that was how a content sigh sounded like from a Cleffa. Okay, fine, I admit it was cute and it was cuddly and it was adorable. This one belonged to me now; it had followed me just to be with me. Why did that make me happy? That someone wanted to follow me instead of me wanting to follow someone, was that it?

"This has to be some lesson that Cat's teaching me…or trying to teach me. I don't get it. What am I really supposed to be doing here?" I asked as I stood up. I plucked the Cleffa from my armor and put it down on the pillow, he looked up at me expectantly. I took off my armor and let it fall to the ground, ending up in my solid black clothes that barely showed through the armor but were much more comfortable to sleep in. I climbed into bed and pulled the covers over me and the Cleffa, who came up to me and snuggled closely, sighing once more happily. My hand came up on its own and I stroked its fur. Its eyes closed slowly and drifted asleep. This Cleffa was mine…but why did it follow me? I wasn't any sort of person who would attract something so innocent. I let out a yawn and closed my eyes. I had to get some sleep.

**_Cat_**

****

"He's different all right," I said as I glanced down the hallway before coming back to sit at the kitchen table.

"He reminds me of one of your previous charges," Chansey said and Annie nodded in agreement. I looked at them both with a raised eyebrow.

"I've had a lot of charges you two, which one are you referring to? I'm old, I don't have the memory I used to," I said with a smile.

"You should remember him, he was a bit of an arrogant prick," Annie said and took a sip of the coffee she had by her side. "I think his name was Atemu, the Pharaoh from Egypt."  
"He wasn't like Ramirez," I said. "I remember him. By the time he actually arrived here after being cooped up in that puzzle thing for a couple of millennia he wasn't half bad. He wasn't half bad when he was living either."

"True, but he was just as clueless as Ramirez was about some things, although fortunately you didn't need to use an emotion amplifier on him. Come to think of it really, he wasn't that bad. Not like Ramirez at all," Chansey said.

"But on another subject Cat, do you think Ramirez will learn what he needs to so he can move on past his probation and go live an ordinary life?" Annie asked.

"I believe in a lot of things Annie," I replied. "I think he'll learn. He's started to even if he doesn't know it. I never expected that Cleffa to hitch a ride with us home but it's a good thing that the little guy did. I think it will really help."

"Think Ramirez will want to become a pokemon trainer?" Chansey asked with a soft laugh.

"I don't know, at the moment, I think he's more likely to commit suicide," I replied with a chuckle.

"Don't say that it might come true!" Annie exclaimed with wide eyes. "He is cute."

"Do you want to date him?" I asked wearily.

"Eww…I have Mike don't forget that," she said.

"Right…Mike. You've only been dating him for what…200 years? Haven't even married. You two have such a fear of commitment, although I don't see how you can after all this time. You two already act like a married couple!" I put my head in my arms on the table. "Ramirez is such a puzzle. I don't want him to fail; he does seem like a good guy, even if he doesn't think so."

"You believe in everybody passing on and living here within the portals."

"I haven't failed too often Chansey," I said. "Immortality comes to those who are able to understand life itself. Ramirez has that ability."

"I know he has that ability but do you really think he'll be able to master it?" she asked.

"I do, I believe he can master it if he really wants to," I replied with a sigh, blowing a strand of hair away from my face. "He has the potential to learn all about his feelings and understand them and move past his…well past. He shouldn't be so caught up on that bad guy…what was his name again? Galacian I think. Galacian was evil, but Ramirez was blinded by the fact he had been betrayed by someone who he thought was good and so he followed Galacian blindly. It's not entirely his fault. Betrayal hurts like a bitch."  
"Watch your language!" Chansey chided and then yawned. "I think we should all get to sleep."

"I agree," Annie said with a smile and stood, taking her coffee cup to the sink and rinsed it out before placing it on the counter to be washed. "Hey, aren't you taking him to get some new clothes? I doubt he can stay in his usual outfit like that forever. It's a wonder his clothes aren't standing on their own!"

"I'm taking him shopping tomorrow in the Sailor Portal." Annie looked at me and laughed. "What's so funny Annie? The Sailor Portal has the best clothes mall. If anything it should be easy to find something that suits him."

"I'm not laughing at the choice in shopping malls I'm laughing because you're probably going to introduce him to the Sailor Senshi, aren't you?"

"Most likely. I'm going to introduce him to everyone I can, all the heroes of the portals and then some. When he passes his probation he will have to choose somewhere to live." I smiled at her and stood, stretching out my arms as I yawned. "He can't go back to where he's from, that's forbidden, but there are enough portals and dimensions to choose from he should find a home quick enough. I'd prefer he'd live in the portals though, much more peaceful than some of the dimensions I've visited."

"True," Annie said. "But now you're putting a lot of faith on the fact that he is going to become a nicer person and move past his past, pardon the pun."

"I believe he will learn what he needs to Annie, now goodnight." I walked away from the two and headed back to my room. My room came before his so I decided not to bother checking on him to make sure he was okay. I sensed he was snoring though so he was probably all right. I did have faith in him, how could I not? I had faith in all my charges that they would become better people and earn the right to a second chance at life. All it took was teaching them how to live.

**_Annie_**

****

I yawned and passed by Ramirez's door on the way to my own room, which was across the hall down a few more feet, just past Chansey's room. I peeked inside and saw Ramirez sleeping there; he actually looked quite adorable as he slept. Then I saw a small lump of pink lying by his face, it looked like that Cleffa that had followed him home today. His hand was holding onto it a little protectively, and that was a good sign. Maybe Cat was right, maybe this guy would get his second life. She really hadn't been wrong before on that, what with the number of guys and girls she's had to deal with in her lifetime job as a parole officer and the Guardian of the Portals. Maybe she was right, all I could do was hope she was. She normally was right, what was I so worried about? I shut his door, headed into my room and plopped down onto my bed, burying my face into my soft pillow and relaxing against my sheets. I didn't doubt her, but I could tell Ramirez was going to be a challenge. If she had to use a spell to bring forth his emotions, what other things would she be forced to do to get him to change for the better? I know she wouldn't use any other magic on him now, so my guess was she had her work cut out for her for as long as it took. She never did know when to quit, which was a good thing, especially in a case like this. Ramirez wouldn't change overnight.

"Goodnight everyone," I muttered. "And good luck." This would be interesting.

**_TBC_**

**__**

**A/N: Read and review, but no flames! Flames will be used to make marshmallows for people that like this story!**


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